


What DO You Buy For A Psychic's Birthday?

by 999blackflowers



Series: 999's Layluke Oneshots [8]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Birthday!, I have multiple AUs where Luke is psychic, M/M, Mild Angst, Psychic Luke AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:22:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25251574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/999blackflowers/pseuds/999blackflowers
Summary: Luke has an issue - being a psychic, he foresees all of his birthday presents! It takes a lot of of the fun, but Hershel has decided to try and make his 11th birthday special by getting around his foresight.
Relationships: Hershel Layton/Luke Triton
Series: 999's Layluke Oneshots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721320
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	What DO You Buy For A Psychic's Birthday?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N from 999blackflowers: Hello, sorry for the lack of upload yesterday. Busy week and I'm writing up a longer more edited fic. I hope you enjoy!  
> Unfortunately, this isn't the highest quality fic, so you'll have to forgive me <3
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
> Luke and Hershel's relationship  
> "Forgotten" Birthday

It was the 27th of October, and Hershel was already planning something as he hunched over in his office with a notepad on the table.

Luke’s birthday was in approximately 4 weeks. He had two weeks before Luke was able to foresee what he was going to get for his birthday. The poor boy’s anxieties caused by all his terrifying visions of deep space had long vanished since he had been anchored, but it did mean the majority of his vision dreams were just whatever Hershel was up to.

It was evening and he quietly plotted. He remembered Luke could… see  _ when  _ he was writing in his visions… but he couldn’t  _ read  _ what he was writing. So he could give some written instructions out.

He would have to do this a couple weeks before Christmas too. Luke’s birthday was on November the 24th, so… basically immediately afterwards. The kid had never believed in Santa Claus after he’d seen a vision of his parents at a very young age of presents being dropped into his stocking and slid under the Christmas tree. Poor kid. 

Rosa could buy something… Emmy could as well. He could probably split what he wanted to get between the two. He had gotten some cash from the ATM, approximately $240. He’d calculated the costs - the gifts Luke wanted were $120 in total and the two people could take their payment of $60 each for going out and buying the gifts.

Then hopefully he could hide it in their house until the 24th. Assuming Luke didn’t foresee where he hid them? Could he even interact or touch the presents? Then again Luke could sometimes see alternate timelines or alternate possibilities in his deepest sleep. A couple weeks ago he had a vision of them having sex and Hershel had to explain what he had seen in that vision, and why he wasn’t going to do that. And two weeks had passed since then. Not the best way to have  _ the talk. _

Poor Luke. Honey. He had been grossed out by it, although Hershel had to explain puberty to him which was beginning to come through - Clark had neglected to explain that. His sexual awakening was going to come  _ eventually,  _ whether the day he turned 11 or when he was 15 years old. His own sexual awakening had been quite late…

Whatever. Hershel got to his feet and tore the page out of the notebook, going to find Emmy. She was on her lunch break.

In the staff room, Emmy was eating a sandwich she’d bought from the cafe down the road with a cup of coffee, when Hershel opened the door and moved in with his notepad in hand.

The rest of the staff-room was empty. Most people were out at the moment. Hershel slammed the notebook page down in front of Emmy.

Emmy slowly looked up at him.

“I need you to read this note.” Hershel pushed it towards her and reached into his coat pocket to grab his wallet.

Emmy sighed, taking said note. 

_ To Emmy, _

_ Luke’s birthday is coming soon. As you know, he is a precognitive and foresees all of my actions. I would like to make his birthday presents a surprise as it occurs to me that he has never had a surprise present for his birthday before.  _

_ I will give you $120 in cash for you go purchase a teddy bear from the store at Sylvia Gardens, which is approximately $60. You may keep the other $60 as payment.  _

_ Please ask for gift wrapping. _

_ Hershel Layton _

“I don’t want to support what you’re doing.” Emmy’s eyes flicked up to him.

“Have you turned the tape you recorded into the police yet?” Hershel questioned. 

Emmy fell silent and just decided to snatch the $120 of cash in his hand, stuffing it into her coat pocket, taking the rest of her sandwich and going to march out the door.

\--

November 10, the night where Luke would always foresee his birthday. He’d been doing it for years, but tonight was the first night where he’d be seeing it anchored. Usually his unanchored dreams were messes of panic and psychic resonance, distant galaxies, people who got murdered two weeks ago, making him realize just how tiny he was. A microbe upon a microbe on the cosmic winds. He tried his best not to think about that, and now that he was anchored, he no longer had those dreams. 

Now he only dreamed about what he would be doing in two weeks time. He had foreseen multiple cases and the answers to all of them, the professah pointing and announcing  _ it’s you _ , and when it actually came to that, he could always bound forwards and stand back to back with the man and point as well.

Hershel had come to bed early tonight. So his head rested on his arm and he breathed in the man’s pyjama shirt, enjoying the fading evening scent of his cologne and the warmth of his chest. It was getting cold as Winter settled in and there was nothing better than snuggling in the warm…

“I’m turning eleven tomorrow.” Luke breathed.

“You are, and I’m very proud of you.” The professor spoke softly, a hand sliding into his hair.

“Th… thank you…” Luke whispered, his eyes closing and his psychic processes taking him to sleep.

…

…

…

By the time Luke woke up, his visions had been… sparse. 

Hershel was gone, leaving him with his bear pressed in his arms and the covers pushed back. He tried to remember what he’d seen last night - he would be able to see his presents if he could remember! He’d always been able to perfectly see his presents from his parents and the like.

But… he couldn’t see anything.

Did… did the professor… forget?

Luke gripped his bear and bit his lip. Of course he’d forget. He always works late and he always forgets to do normal things like eat.

He slowly sat up, leaving his bear and deciding to move outside slowly.

Hershel was outside, having managed to pop some toast in the toaster and having actually remembered to eat breakfast for once when he noticed Luke slinking out of his room. Moment of truth.

The boy was wearing his pyjamas still, his eyes doll-like and empty. Depressed. Hershel realized the boy hadn’t foreseen his gifts.

“Good morning, Luke.” Hershel’s eyes flicked to the toast, completely forgetting it was for him and grabbing the boy’s favourite jam from the open pantry to spread onto the lightly toasted bread. 

“G...good morning.” Luke whispered. His eyes were on the ground, a little invisible rain cloud over his head. Hershel carried the plate over to the small coffee table, guiding the boy over so he could eat. 

Hershel wondered if the boy was going to speak up, but he didn’t. Luke pulled the plate into his lap as he sat on the couch to eat. Was he being given the cold shoulder? Perhaps. He took a bite of the bread and seemingly stewed.

“Once you get changed, I’ll take you to school.” Hershel gave an assuring nod-

“Yeah, sure, sure.” 

\--

Luke had changed by the time Hershel picked him up. Their drive was near silent as Luke sat in the passenger seat, arms folded and staring out the window. Hershel  _ knew  _ why. He had gone from upset to just stewing away in his cute little uniform - his uniform was adorable, honestly.

Hershel turned the radio up as Luke suddenly began to speak.

“Y-you’re going to forget my birthday.” Luke spoke hoarsely. “And- and then you’re going to forget this conversation.”

Had he been  _ crying _ ? God, Hershel hoped not.

“I’m sincerely sorry if I do, but you aren’t going to foresee every possibility.” Hershel tried to speak to him-

“And you’re not going to remember this conversation, so you won’t remember my birthday.” Luke trembled.

“I can promise you that I  _ will  _ remember your birthday.” Hershel looked over to him as they stopped at an intersection. “Believe me.”

“Then why won’t you get me anything? Y-you always- you always treat me so good…” Luke mumbled, crossing his arms tighter.

“You will see.” Hershel assured softly, starting the car again to keep driving home. Truthfully he already started feeling a bit guilty, even though he  _ had  _ indeed bought the boy some presents. Maybe he needed to give Luke some nice kisses and spoon-feed him some ice cream.

\--

Luke awoke. 11 years old today, was the first thought in his mind. Hershel was absent in their bed again. Their bed was cold. It was a Saturday morning and normally on these days Hershel would sleep in, but…

He’d forgotten. Clearly. He’d foreseen it.

So he slid out of bed and decided to open the door, until his nose was caught by the scent of pancakes.  _ Ah?! _

Luke skid into the kitchen to see Hershel over the stove with a bowl of pancake batter and a frying pan. And a stack of pancakes already piled up on a plate, layered with syrup already.

“Good morning!” Hershel greeted with a wide smile. He was wearing an apron and everything over his casual Saturday clothes. “Happy birthday.”

Luke gave a little gasp of surprise, standing on his toes for a moment-

“Your pancakes just aren’t done yet, my boy, your gifts are all on the couch.” Hershel made a motion with a spatula, the boy’s eyes flicking over to the couch to see several wrapped presents.

“Oh my gosh.” Luke gasped. “How-- how did I not foresee this?!”   


“I’ll tell you once you’ve opened them. I planned ahead, you see.” Hershel assured. And Luke stared up at a wrapped box quite literally his own size, and a smaller box with different wrapping paper. He slowly took it in his hands and tore it open, his eyes lighting up.

A boxset toppled onto the ground - a whole collection of Enid Blyton novels. Luke snatched it up with sheer joy.

“I missed these!” Luke grinned widely. “How’d you get these?”

“I went searching.” Hershel explained, scraping a pancake off the pan to add to the growing stack. 

Luke’s eyes went to the larger box and decided to stand up on the couch - even though he wasn’t supposed to - pulling the ribbon away and then tearing the wrapping paper away. He found himself presented with a cardboard box. He sighed and tore the flaps of the box open before gasping, pulling the box over onto its side and grabbing the thing by its ear.

He stumbled back and pulled a gigantic teddy bear from the box. Around 70cm tall, it was… almost his size. 

“Professah!” Luke exclaimed with great joy as he hugged it to himself. It was indeed just below his size, before realizing and glancing back at the professah. “Did you really forget my birthday?”

“Not at all.” Hershel carried the plate of pancakes to the table with a bottle of maple syrup and a slice of butter topping the magnificent stack. He placed it down and passed Luke a knife and fork. 

“Th… then how? I should’ve foreseen this.” Luke lifted a single pancake off the stack for a second - Hershel returning with a second plate to make eating a bit easier.

“Well. You see.” Hershel smiled faintly. “I never interacted with these presents before today - I merely wrote a list of what I wanted to get you, and passed Emmy the money and the list.”

“How on earth did that work?” Luke’s mouth had opened to a little ‘o’ shape.

“You can’t read in your visions, can you?” Hershel reminded him. “And you only foresee what  _ I  _ do.”

Luke took a moment to ponder before a smile came to his face. “... I love you, professah.”

“Ah?” Hershel leaned down.

“Y-you put so much effort into… making my presents a surprise for once.” Luke looked down to his pancakes. “I’ve never… had a surprise present.”

“I’ve actually already bought your Christmas presents too.” Hershel chuckled.

“You think so far ahead!” Luke realized before he began to laugh. He was so busy laughing he was surprised by the little kiss planted on his forehead.


End file.
